White Noise Dreams
by CaloftheWild
Summary: Bella Swan made the decision of turning to drugs after her fathers death, her boyfriend Nate indulging, encouraging, and supporting the terrible habit. She then meets Alice Cullen, an inhumanly beautiful pixie of a girl with golden eyes who only seems to want to help her fix the life she's slowly destroying. Will Alice be able to help before it's too late? Warning for drug use
1. Meeting Alice Cullen

**(WARNING: If drugs, sex, and occasional violence bothers you, then turn back now. Like right now, because this story is not for you.)**

**(Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all except Nate)**

**(A/N: So I know I'm in the beginnings of another story too, and rest assured I will update it. I was just getting to the end of the third chapter when this little story idea popped in to my head, and I REALLY wanted to start it so I wouldn't forget it. I'll be working on both stories simultaneously.)**

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><p>All heads turned as a roaring, ancient red pickup truck all but screeched in to the parking lot of the high school. The driver was none other than Isabella Swan, or Bella as she preferred to be called, and her boyfriend Nathan Andrews, who always swung a ride with his girlfriend to school seeing as he didn't own a car of his own, which was surprising considering his line of work. Bella pulled in to her usual parking spot that was decently clear of most of the students and their cars; she all but loathed the majority of the students there.<p>

"I fucking hate school." Bella moaned, slamming her head on the steering wheel.

"Oh shut up, Bella, it's not going to be so bad. First day and all, chin up Belly-button!" Nate chirped, using his usual nickname for the irritated girl.

"Naaaaaate," She whined, glancing his way, "I almost didn't sleep at all last night."

"Beeeeeella," He returned, imitating her tone, "You almost never sleep anyways."

The brunette girl groaned once more in frustration before hauling her bag over her shoulder and climbing out of the red monster, slamming its heavy door behind her. Nate bounced up beside her as she walked towards the building, and it didn't take long for her to notice his overly hyperactive nature for it being eight in the morning. With a quick glance around, Bella hooked on to his arm and dragged him to a more discreet spot around the corner.

"Alright, you dumb fuck, what have you got." She demanded.

Nate grinned impishly at her direct approach. He was never put off by her insults, because in Bella's own way it was a term of endearment. The tall, muscled boy wrapped her in his arms and smiled down at his girlfriend, his pupils dilated.

"Addeerrraaallll" He crooned softly, letting go just long enough to dig a small baggie containing two pills. He very carefully slid them in to her jacket pocket, making it look like he was just having a couples moment with his girlfriend, and then whispered, "I figured you'd be grumpy, so I brought you a present. Make sure to take them in the bathroom before 1st period."

"You spoil me." Bella pulled him in for a searing kiss before bounding away, laughing as he gave chase.

Bella and Nate as a couple were an infamous among Forks High School, even though Bella had just moved at the end of the previous year and only attended the last few months before summer arrived, but everybody knew her simply because nobody did, at least not intimately or even in a friendship sort of way. The only reason Nate had even met Bella was because she went looking for trouble over the summer and he happened to be the one to take her under his wing. The whole school knew of her because she was the former police chief's daughter; "former" being because he'd suffered a tragic accident just at the beginning of May that caused his death. Bella then began living alone in the large house that her father had left, the only person ever showing up there being Nate, and secluding herself from most of society

That's when she went looking for trouble. Bella was so torn over her father's death, and so consumed in loneliness, that she turned to the one thing she knew would take all the pain away; drugs. She met Nate because she'd gotten involved in a bad deal that he happened to be a part of as well, something went awry and a fight broke out, but thankfully Nate was there to push her away from the chaos and calm everyone down. He always said that night was the best night of his life because he got a huge payout and a beautiful woman at the same time. The two became practically inseparable at that point, wherever Nate was, Bella was there too, the only exception being that they didn't live together, but with as much as he was at her house they might as well have. It didn't take very long for word to spread through the town about what Isabella Swan and Nathan Andrews were up to in their free time, and although nobody seemed to acknowledge them as more than rumors, it didn't stop the kids at school from whispering behind their backs.

"You great lug, you couldn't catch me if you tried!" Bella called over her shoulder as she ran the length of the parking lot to the front doors.

"Watch me Belly-button!" Nate yelled ahead.

Bella snorted in contempt at the nickname, having hated it since he made it up one day when they were a little too strung out, and he was a little too hyper. She continued running, looking back at him one more time and then effectively running in to what felt like a brick wall from the distraction, causing her to fall back with a painful _thud. _The girl looked up in shock, truly believing she'd hit a wall, and her breath hitched at the sight before her, because right there, towering over Bella, was none other than Alice Cullen.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright!?" Alice cried, reaching out a hand and pulling her up.

"U-um. . ." Bella stuttered for a minute, stunned by her musical voice, her ice cold skin, and her sheer strength, then quickly covered it up with a cough, "Oh, yeah I'm okay"

"I'm so sorry; if I had seen you coming I would have moved." The little pixie squeaked.

"No, um, its okay, I should have watch where I was going." Bella replied, shaking her head.

She stared at the tiny girl for a moment while she tried to get her bearings. Bella's throat went dry when she took in all of Alice's features; the small, but shapely body, the beautifully pale skin, and the full pink lips turned up in to a knowing smirk . . . wait.

_Oh shit._ Bella thought as their eyes met. _I was staring. Fuck, fuck, fuck me._

Nate chose that moment to finally catch up, breathing heavily as he leaned over with his hands on his knees and taking in enormous gulps of oxygen. It took him a few minutes, but when he was finally able to he stood up and threw his arm around Bella's shoulders, peering curiously at the Cullen family. Alice's smile suddenly seemed less friendly, her lips tightening to a thin line as she tried to maintain her composure. Rosalie also seemed to pick the most interesting time to but in, breaking away from their family.

"Watch where you're going next time." The bombshell blonde gritted her teeth in anger, jabbing a finger in Bella's direction.

"Hey now Rosie, no blood no foul right?" Nate smiled, but even Bella could hear the underlying threat in his tone. "Bella didn't mean it, right Bells?"

"N-no," She stuttered at being put back in the spotlight, "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time."

"That's Rosalie to you." She snapped before storming off.

"I'm sorry about my sister," Alice giggled, "She can be a little over-bearing sometimes, but your friend here is right, no _blood, _no foul."

If either of them noticed the emphasis she put on the word blood, they didn't say a thing about it. Nate opened his mouth to speak again, but Alice cut him off swiftly.

"Well, Bella, it was nice to finally meet you, even if our first meeting was less than graceful. I can only hope our next meetings will be much more . . . _stimulating."_

Bella's jaw dropped as the petite minx danced away to join her family. Had she heard that correct? Was Alice actually _flirting_ with her? She shook free of the lewd thoughts that swarmed her brain as Nate began to drag her in to the school, spouting something about being late on the first day.

_Shame on you, Bella_ She mentally scolded herself. _You have a boyfriend._

The couple had somehow made it to class on time, with Nate dropping her off at her first period, giving her a chaste kiss and then taking off for his own classroom. The lesson was painfully uneventful; as most first days went the teacher introduced herself, and then proceeded to hand out packets to each student with a list of things they would require and her behavioral expectations. At some point Bella managed to make an excuse to run to the bathroom, using the class "ladies issues" excuse that most teachers immediately fell for.

She hoped her next two classes would go a little smoother after she had taken the Adderall that Nate had slipped in to her pockets, but oh how terribly wrong she was. As it happened, her next two classes were Science and Math, which might not have been so bad except she had a very persistent and annoying boy named Mike Newton in her science class, and two very overly bitchy air-heads in her Math class. Her Adderall buzz almost instantly took a turn for the worse, as it always does if something bad happens at the beginning of the high, because by the time lunch rolled around every little thing was pissing her off. Every noise, every student chatting, every scraping of trays, and tables, and chairs was making Bella cringe and clench her fists in anger.

"Belly-button!" Nate called as she entered the cafeteria for lunch, running over to spin her around in a crushing hug. Normally she would've laughed and hugged back, but now was not one of those times.

"Nate," She ground out, "Put me down."

"Oh no, don't tell me . . ." He said, setting her to the floor gently.

"Yeah, fucking classmates! First I get this flirtatious, over-cocky jock in my second hour that wouldn't stop hitting on me, then in third period there were two bimbos who wouldn't _shut the fuck up._"

Nate knew full well that Bella normally was a force to be reckoned with, and the boy felt guilty that he hadn't remembered what Adderall would do to her if she was around the wrong people. With a sigh of defeat, he simply led his girlfriend to their empty lunch table where a few bottles of water rested. He knew that neither of them would be eating while on their high, and Bella wasted no time in plopping down in to a chair and chugging the contents of one of the bottles, relishing in the feel of the cool liquid sliding down her parched throat. Nate sat in the chair next to her and scooted close, mindful that even he was on thin ice with Bella in this kind of mood.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked, his voice lowering to a whisper, "I'm sorry, I forgot that Adderall can make you irritable, I guess I don't think of it because it doesn't have the same effect on me."

Bella turned in to the sorrowful and apologetic face of her blonde man-child, sighing when she realized that she should have been smarter about it, and that it wasn't fair to blame him. After all, she chose to take the pills despite the risks of her getting angry.

"It's okay, Nate." She flashed him a smile, "I should have known better, but yeah, I'd like to get going. I keep getting this feeling that I'm being watched anyways."

"You aren't imagining it." Nate's pout slowly morphed in to a grin of delight.

"Excuse me?"

"You aren't imagining it, Bella. I've been paying attention since you had your funny little accident this morning."

Bella scrunched her brows together in confusion and looked around the cafeteria, scanning the large room for anyone who might be looking their direction. She barely managed to contain her gasp of surprise when she met the smoldering black eyes of Alice, suddenly feeling as if she could drown in their depths and barely registering that the look on her face was actually one of pure rage, or that Rosalie's hand was tightly gripped on her shoulder as if to restrain the pixie.

"Alice Cullen has been staring at you all day. I think she likes you." He snorted, pulling her out of her stupor when his arm snuck around her waist.

As soon as Nate said it, it was as if a switch went off because Alice instantly broke their stare down and looked away as if nothing had happened. Bella wondered idly if she'd heard what he said, but decided that it wouldn't make sense given how far across the room they were. The couple sat there a while longer, chatting a bit and finishing off the water bottles while they waited for the end of lunch bell. It would've looked too obvious that they were skipping out if they left mid-lunch, and someone might notice, so they chose to blend with the crowd as everyone went to leave at the same time.

When the bell echoed around the school, Nate jumped up and lost himself with the flow of traffic, making sure he was tugging his girlfriend along behind him. As they duck and wove through the students, Bella managed to lose grip on Nate's hand and for the second time that day she ran smack straight in to Alice, although this time the smaller woman managed to keep Bella upright.

"Hey Bella!" She chirped happily.

"Oh, hey Alice . . ." Bella replied, trailing off and trying not to look in to the black orbs of the pixie. "Um, well, I have to find Nate; I lost him in the crowd."

She tried to turn and walk away but a steel grip spun her around by the arm.

"Bella, wait," Alice said, her eyes narrowing when she did, in fact, notice Bella's dilated pupils. "You seem kind of _on edge_ today."

_Fuck, she knows. I need to get out of here NOW! _Bella thought desperately.

Thank god that Nate chooses the best moments to come to her rescue, because he was suddenly next to her and putting his arm across her shoulders. Alice dropped her hand from Bella's arm, and Bella could have sworn she heard a faint growling sound coming from the tiny woman.

"Hey Alice! Thanks for finding _my girl,_" Nate pressed a kiss to Bella's temple, "She always has a way of getting swept along with the current of crowds."

"No problem." Alice barely managed to keep the snarl from her voice as she turned heel and took off after her family.

"Right, so now that our cover is blown, let's go." Nate stated, dragging the stunned brunette all the way to her truck.

It took them about fifteen minutes to get home, and in the end the two of them just watched television. Nate was so absorbed in the T.V. show that he never noticed his girlfriends silence or that she was staring off in to space, completely lost in thought. Bella rubbed her hands on her face, trying to get the distracting thoughts to leave her be as she snuggled in to Nate's side, listening to him laugh and poke fun at the T.V. show characters. The couple stayed like that the rest of the afternoon, saying their goodbyes and parting ways with a kiss as Nate climbed in to her truck to go to his home. No one ever got the privilege of driving Old Red except Nate, and only because he had proven himself trustworthy with her baby.

Bella sighed for the thousandth time that day as she got ready for bed and climbed in, all of her thoughts and concerns returning with a vengeance as she settled under the comforter.

_Why was she staring at me all day? And weren't her eyes gold when we met? _Bella mused, thinking back to how they had seemed pitch black during and after lunch, _Fuck, she also knows I was on something. She purposefully looked me in the eye, and when she did I heard the anger in her voice. She couldn't have over heard me and Nate, could she?_

As she gradually drifted off, Bella could have sworn she saw golden eyes just outside her window before sleep claimed her.

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><p>(AN: Alright guys, let me have it. What do you think?)


	2. AN

Okay guys, sorry to get your hopes up but I do need to post this. I am working on the next chapter for BOTH of my stories, and they are almost done, but work has me on a hellish work schedule at almost 50-55 hours a week, so I'm only able to work on them bits at a time. I'm also a little stuck on the next chapter for White Noise Dreams because I know what I want to happen, but I'm not sure how to execute it. Thank you all for being so patient with me! I'll have chapter 2 for White Noise Dreams and chapter 4 for Sparks in the Gift in no time!


	3. Fate is Knocking

**_(Disclaimer: You get the point)_**

**_(A/N: Here it is guys! The next chapter you have all been waiting for! *cue dramatic entrance music*)_**

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><p><em> She was standing in an open plain; the breeze was whispering words that she couldn't quite understand, no matter how hard she tried. Where was this place? Bella spun in a circle to quickly take it all in. A slow ripple of green dotted with the whites, yellows, and pinks of flower went through the grass in waves, all flattened by the powerful winds, and the sky was dark and cloudy as if a storm was on the way.<em>

_ "Bella . . ." _

_ The brunette snapped to attention as the light murmur reached her ears. She looked around curiously, wondering who had spoken when the voice became more prominent._

_ "Isabella Swan . . ."_

_ Bella went rigid when she noticed a figure walked towards her at a slow pace, suddenly realizing that the voice belonged to none other than Alice Cullen. As if on cue, the tiny pixy of a woman was now in front of her, causing her breath to hitch as she stopped with their faces only inches apart and bodies pressed together._

_ "Bella . . ." The woman whispered._

_ "Bella . . ."_

_ "Bella . . ."_

"Isabella!" Nate bellowed in to his girlfriend's ear.

Bella woke with a start and a yell, launching herself sideways off the queen sized mattress that lay pushed to the wall in the far corner of her bedroom. Her room was pretty basic in the long run, harboring no more than a bed, a night stand, a dresser with a giant mirror, and a few decorations here and there. Nate would constantly insist that she paint her walls, or put posters up, but Bella preferred the simple look, it just seemed less cluttered to her. At the moment, she was profoundly grateful that she wasn't a naturally messy person, because she now lay in a heap of limbs and cotton on her wooden floor.

Nate stared down at his girlfriend in amusement, his arms crossed over his chest and teeth gnawing at the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing hysterically at her antics. The disgruntled girl groaned and continued to lie on the floor for a good five minutes before the blonde man-child finally caved and doubled over in laughter.

"Come on, drama queen!" Nate choked out, untangling Bella from her covers.

"You're an asshole." She grumbled in response.

"Yes, but I'm an asshole that you love."

Bella didn't respond at the last statement, instead opting to fix her bed in silence while her sleep-disrupting boyfriend left to go make them breakfast. They had had the discussion about love more times than she cared to admit, and it always ended in them fighting because as much as Nate loved Bella, she refused to allow herself to get that deep in to her emotions. It was a fear that stemmed from losing both her parents and being left alone without any family, or rather any family that cared. Bella did have grandparents, her father's parents, and they were actually the only reason the courts had allowed her to live on her own instead of going to some kind of home until she turned eighteen, but other than promising to check up on her once a month and send money for living costs, they refused to ever see her.

It was mostly due to her mother, who had been strongly disliked by the couple ever since she married their son and bore his child; one could only imagine how thrilled they must have been at the divorce that occurred when Bella was little. If her grandparents had gotten their way then they would've never had contact with Bella either. When she moved in with her father after her mother's passing, he had begged them to be civil for his sake, and on his death bed he made them promise that they would take care of it if she ever needed help. To this day she never sees them, just receives a check in the mail once a month.

Bella looked across the room to the small picture on her dresser; it was encased in a silver photo frame and made her smile at the memory of it. The photo was from when she was ten-years-old and had been taken by her mom's boyfriend and soon-to-be husband, Phil. It showed her at the beach for her birthday, splashing water at her father while her mother snuck up on her from behind, it was one of the few times her parents got along just enough to give her a perfect day.

"Belly-button, if you don't hurry we are going to be late again!" Nate called up the stairs.

"I'm almost ready!" Bella called back out of the bathroom door.

With a sigh, she gripped the edge of the counter hard and stared at herself intently in the mirror, taking in the dark circles under her eyes that were barely concealed by make-up. Her hair was worn in a slightly messy style and she wore a pair of black, torn skinny jeans, a plain white midriff shirt covered by a form fitting jean jacket and on her feet were a pair of ankle high boots.

"Good enough." She mumbled to herself, retreating downstairs to where Nate was still yelling at her.

Nate stood by the doorway dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, a plain hoodie, and he had both of their back packs slung easily over one shoulder. Bella smiled at him lightly when she noticed the Wal-Mart bag of snack foods; even if she didn't love the guy, she couldn't help but care deeply for him when he did stuff like that.

"It's about time! We're going to be late, so you'll have to survive on snacking in class until lunch, now let's go!" He swung her around off the steps, eliciting a giggle, and pushed her out the front door.

"Jesus, Nate, who lit a fire under your ass?" She asked as she climbed in the passenger seat, eyeing the boy suspiciously when he hopped behind the wheel.

Nate didn't answer immediately, avoiding the question as the truck roared to life and he peeled out of the driveway. The blonde man tried to ignore the intense brown eyes staring through the side of his head as he turned on music and whistled along to it, tapping his fingers idly on the steering wheel. Bella didn't let up, only continued to stare intensely and raised an eyebrow at his evasive behavior.

"Fucking spill it, Nate." She snapped.

"Okay, okay! Look, I'm uh . . . not going to school with you today. I'll drop you off with your truck and keys, then Greg is going to swing by and pick me up and . . ." Nate trailed off when he noticed the livid look on Bella's face.

"Greg? You mean the guy you used to travel to other cities to do deals with? The guy who nearly killed me when me and you first met? That Greg?"

"Um, yes, well . . . okay, babe look, I know you don't like him-"

"I don't _like_ him? No, Nate, I absolutely _loathe _that man with every bone I've got. He fucking attacked me, and you swore to me that night when you beat the shit out of him for what he did that you would never interact with him again. What in hell's name would possess you to get back in contact with him!?" She cried hysterically as they pulled in to their parking space at school.

"Bella, listen to me, I know what he did, and he will never come near you again if I have anything to do with it, but I also need him to make money. He brings in wealthy clients and I've been running dry lately. I won't let him come to Forks, I'll go to him in Seattle, but I _need_ this." He pleaded.

Bella slammed the door when she got out, circling to the driver's side and getting right in Nate's face when he finally shut and locked the truck.

"No, you listen to me Nathan Allen Andrews, because I'm going to say this once."

Nate cringed at her tone of voice and the use of his full name, flinching when she ripped her back-pack off his arm.

"_I hate that man."_ She seethed, her words dripping venom. "You're an adult, so you can do as you damn well please, but if you show up to my house before you've rectified your mistake I'll tell you to shove it and go home."

With that, Bella turned on her heel and stormed in to the building, leaving behind a horrified Nate and not even noticing the amused looks of the Cullen family from across the lot.

For the first three hours of school, all Bella did was stew in her fury, and it was as if everyone could feel the negative energy she put off because they were avoiding her like the plague. It wasn't unusual but at least on a normal day a few people would speak to her, but today she felt like she was parting the red sea every time she moved down the crowded hallways because apparently no one wanted to mess with a girl who looked like she was about to go on a shooting rampage.

Finally making it in to her third hour, Bella plopped down in the very back seat and put her head down on the desk, relishing in the feeling of the cool wood on her cheek as thoughts of the night with Greg and Nate flooded her memories. That night had been the first time she ever decided to try drugs, the first time she had met Nate, and the first time she discovered the true nature of her friend Greg.

"_Don't worry sweetheart, you'll enjoy this." The rough looking, thick-set man drawled._

_He was clearly drunk, and high on god knows as he pinned Isabella Swan to the bed, completely ignoring his friends who were downstairs having a good time. Bella whimpered pathetically, terrified out of her mind as she struggled against his strong hold and trying to remove his hand from her mouth._

"_Shh, shh, it's okay. Be quiet we don't want anyone to hear you, now do we?"_

_That's when things began to escalate. Greg had managed to rip off her clothes, along with his own, and was roughly massaging her crotch as if trying to turn her on. She cried out around his hand, begging him to stop and leave her alone. Bella had made the unfortunate decision of trusting Greg just because he was the son of her father's friend and she knew now why her father had warned her against becoming close with him._

"_Shut up, Bella!" He snarled, slapping her as she tried to cry out again._

_As if on cue, the bedroom door suddenly flew open to reveal Nathan Andrews. Bella remembered being introduced to him early in the night, he was a fairly handsome guy with neatly cut blonde hair, and blue eyes that sparkled mischievously almost all the time. The two had hit it off, much to Greg's dismay, and at the moment Bella was never happier to see a stranger in her entire life._

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Nate bellowed, grabbing Greg by the back of his neck and tearing him off the half-naked girl._

"_Get the fuck off me man!" Greg cried out as Nate began to wail on him, only stopping briefly to throw his hoodie to Bella._

"_You're a piece of shit you know it!" He snarled in to Greg's now bloody face._

_Nate climbed off of the beaten man and walked cautiously over to a trembling Bella who was sitting on the edge of the bed covering her face. He moved slow enough, as not to startle her, and knelt down at her knees with a look of pure sadness and regret marring his features._

"_Bella . . ." He whispered softly to get her attention._

_That was her undoing. As soon as Nate said her name, Bella flung herself on to him and sobbed uncontrollably in to his shoulder, burying her face in to the crook of his neck. Nate wrapped his arms around her shaking form gently, rocking the distraught woman back and forth until her sobs lessened to whimpers and sniffling. _

"_I am so sorry, Bella. I've known Greg my whole life, and I didn't know he would ever do something like this. I'm sorry I didn't check on you guys sooner." _

"_I-it's okay," Bella choked out, her voice cracking "Y-you couldn't have known."_

"_That's beside the point. I feel responsible."_

_After helping Bella to stand, he turned a blind eye while she put on a pair of basketball shorts he'd dug from Greg's drawer, and wrapped her in one more hug before they left. Nate explained to the guys what had happened as soon as he had Bella settled in the passenger seat of her truck, and was outside minutes later to drive her home. The ride was blanketed in a depressing silence occasionally interrupted by a sniff or a whimper from Bella, which elicited a sorrowful look from Nate every single time. _

_Nate had been a perfect gentleman the rest of the night. When Bella asked him to stay with her for the night, explaining that she lived alone but actually hated it, he was surprise but willingly complied, figuring she would need some kind of support. The two did nothing but talk for hours, but when Bella started to become upset over the events of that night again, Nate stepped up and offered her something to help. Bella was entirely reluctant at first, but she'd actually gone to Greg's to try those kinds of things In the first place, so with a nod the girl had popped her first Xanax. It didn't take long to kick in, and when it did she felt more relaxed and content then she'd felt in a long time, snuggling up to the former stranger that was Nate._

"Ms. Swan, the bell rang. You're free to go, but I'm assigning you extra work since you all but slept through my entire class."

Bella looked up to see her teacher towering over her desk holding a decent sized stack of papers. With an exasperated sigh, she took them, gathered her things, and darted through the halls to try and make it to the lunch room before anyone else. It would've worked, had she not had the wonderful luck of slamming in to another brick wall as she rounded a corner. She sat on the ground, slightly disoriented and just staring in confusion at the pair of designer heels in front of her. Bella slowly allowed her gaze to travel upwards and she almost choked at the situation.

Alice Cullen was leaning over, straight-legged, and her more than ample cleavage was barely a foot from her line of sight. She cleared her throat nervously, looked away at the tile floor, then forced her eyes back up to meet the piercing golden ones that were inspecting her with concern.

"If this is going to be a regular thing with you, we might have to wrap you in bubble wrap."

"Might as well, at this rate I'll be black and blue all over by Christmas" Bella mumbled, toeing the ground before speaking louder. "I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention."

"I'm sure my brother Emmett has more than enough saved up to pull it off." Alice returned with a laugh, gripping Bella's hand and pulling her to her feet. "It's okay, somehow I imagine it hurt you more than it hurt me."

It took all of her willpower not to let her jaw drop, as she was momentarily mesmerized by the bell-like laugh of the beautiful woman; she'd probably be able to listen to that sound for a lifetime and never get tired of it. Bella's jaw dropped when she realized that she had just called another woman beautiful inside her own head.

"Bella, if you stare any longer like that you're going to catch flies." Alice whispered, leaning in and using one finger to close her mouth.

Bella's breath hitched at the close proximity as her senses were clouded and bombarded with the combined scents of sunflowers and honeysuckle, causing her to once again lose concentration, which seemed to be a common thing around Alice. Bella took a moment to regain her composure, and then looked down in to the face of the cunning minx, her cheeks reddening and face turning hot at the smug look Alice held.

"I-oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing." Bella bit her lip, leaning back slightly.

"Its okay, Bella. So, where is Nate?" Alice asked as innocently as possible.

Bella instantly sobered up at the question.

"Oh, he had stuff to take care of."

Alice's eyes widened in surprise at the bitter edge in the taller girl's voice, but inside she silently thanked whatever deity that Nate wasn't there so she would have the chance to talk to Bella without his constant interruptions. Out of no where, she then squealed and clapped her hands together in excitement.

"I have a great idea! Bella, you're sitting with us today! And don't even try to argue, you don't have a choice."

"Um, well, look Alice . . ." Bella trailed off when Alice put on her best pout, and she had to resist the urge to kiss it away, "N-no, don't do that. Listen, I'm not really. . .a people person, and I'm in a pretty sour mood, so I was just going to eat outside or something."

It was a partial truth, and she hoped Alice would believe it because at this rate Bella was going to bite a hole through her lip. It was a kind gesture, but she really was in a pretty bad mood, first there was the fight with Nate, then she had to deal with the fact that she was clearly swooning over another girl. Those two things she could have easily survived, but the real underlying reason was that people already whispered and spread rumors about her, and that would only get worse if she were to sit with the most mysterious, albeit popular, kids in the school. Apparently Alice was bound and determined though, because what she did next nearly made Bella pass out.

She leaned even closer, their faces almost touching as she moved to Bella's ear, and in an almost husky whisper asked:

"We could always go somewhere more private."

The stunned brunette didn't even have a chance to reply, within seconds her hand was wrapped in an iron hard grip and she was being dragged through the lunch line for food, then out the door. They spent most of that hour sitting just at the tree-line and talking about anything that crossed their minds. Bella explained her life somewhat, she told Alice about her mom and dad divorcing, about her mother remarrying, and about the death of both of her parents. She conveniently left out what came after Charlie's death, as well as how she and Nate actually met. Bella knew the question would surface at some point, but for now she was content to avoid it as much as possible.

"I had fun Bella." Alice said with a smile, skipping a few steps ahead of the brunette and spinning around to look her in the face, which, to Alice's delight, held a very genuine smile in response.

"So did I . . ." Bella trailed off.

The pair just stood there for a few minutes, neither of them really wanting to make the move to leave. Bella was biting her lip and lightly toeing the ground with her converse, and Alice was admiring the shy side of the girl that was all but invisible most of the time; it was very endearing. Finally, Bella cleared her throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air.

"U-um, well I should get to class, but I'm glad you made me sit at lunch with you. I was having a pretty bad day, but you made me feel better." Bella flashed the same genuine smile from earlier.

Alice was ready to jump with excitement and joy, but instead just silently cheered and offered a simple nod in response.

"I'm glad I could help, have fun in class." She hugged the girl swiftly, savoring the brief moment, then skipped off down the hall way in the opposite direction.

Bella sighed in a way that resembled defeat while she watched the pixie-girl bounce away, finally accepting the fact that she, Isabella Marie Swan, was indeed attracted to a woman. That part wasn't the biggest problem though, because not only was she attracted to Alice Cullen of all people, but what about her boyfriend? It was that moment that Bella decided just because she was attracted to someone else, it didn't mean anything had to be done about it.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully; no run-ins with Alice other than an occasional wave in the hall-way. She did get a few questions from classmates, but they mostly consisted of guys asking where Nate was. No doubt they were all hoping the fight had resulted in a break-up, and Bella would be kidding herself if she claimed not to have thought about it. She was still seething pretty bad, Nate knew very well that he was fucking up but he was still choosing to take that course of action. The end of the day came quick, and within moments of the bell ringing Bella was out the front doors and inside of her truck.

"Whatever . . .see if I care when he drags his ass back in to town . . ." Bella muttered under her breath, her truck roaring angrily as she took off for home.

She fully expected for him to come groveling back on his hands and knees, for even she had seen the regret in his eyes when she had stormed off that morning, what she didn't expect, however, was to pull in to her driveway and see an incredibly distraught looking Nate on her front porch. Bella didn't move for a few minutes, trying to decide whether she actually wanted to face him, but it seemed her body had its own agenda because before she knew it she was standing face-to-face with the blonde bear-man. He wasted no time in getting to his apology.

"I'm so sorry Bella!" Nate wailed, throwing his arms around her. "I didn't go, I promise. I know I fucked up, I should have never got in contact with him, but when you got that look on your face and you just left me standing there I didn't know what to do. I called him and told him the deal was off, I've been waiting here all morning and I'm so so so sorry!"

Bella flinched slightly at the sudden embrace, but quickly melted in to it. She always did have a soft spot for the guy, and smiled when he began to ramble, pressing a finger to his mouth to silence him before replacing it with her own lips. The kiss was chaste, and the vision of Alice that flashed briefly in her mind caused her to pull back quicker than she meant to. Thankfully, Nate didn't seem to notice the hiccup.

"Listen, you're an idiot. You shouldn't have done it, it really hurt me and I'll be damned if I let it go that easily because it felt like I was betrayed." Nate's face fell, and Bella took a deep breath to steady herself. "However, I care about you. You've been here through thick and thin and I won't let one fight destroy what we have, so please, can you stop apologizing as if you just committed a murder?"

Nate nodded almost frantically in response, refusing to remove his arms from his girl until she forced him to and dragged him inside the house behind her.

"Good, now come on, I've got a few pills to test out and I'm pretty sure you're favorite show is on." Bella giggled.

She went to shut the door behind them, stopping briefly when she thought she heard a faint growling noise. Deciding it was probably just some stray animal, she closed the door all the way and curled in to her boyfriend's side on the couch, praying that spending time with Nate _and _Alice at school the next day would go better than she was anticipating it would.

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><p><strong>(AN: Right-o! So I honestly wanted to shove a lot more in to this chapter, but thought it better to find a stopping point. It will take time for a relationship to truly blossom between Alice and Bella, so be patient because 1.) Bella has never been attracted to a girl 2.) She's dating a guy who plays a very important role later on in the story when Bella and Alice finally are together. What is this? Foreshadowing? I am giving hints. Shame on me. At least there are no spoilers, right? Bellice isn't really a spoiler because obviously that is endgame.)**


	4. Tension in the Air

**(Disclaimer: done.)**

**(A/N: Some of this chapter will be from Alice's side of things, no worries, her side will be given more often in later chapters.)**

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><p>Bella groaned in protest when a warm body next to her began to continuously shift. With a grunt, she smacked the arm wrapped around her waist in an attempt to get the form to stop moving, but just managed to draw a snort of amusement from the burly man spooning her. The couple lay tangled and wrapped in Bella's black sheets and comforter, barely able to function in the early hours of Saturday morning, and barely remembering the events preceding them going to bed.<p>

Everything seemed fine at first, the two were relaxed, sleepy, and content and Bella prayed that it could stay that way forever. Of course nothing ever seemed to go her way because her still sleep boggled mind then abruptly went in to overdrive. While she lay enveloped in Nate's warmth and comforting scent, the fight from the day before surged to the forefront of her mind and the situation suddenly felt a lot less comfortable. She wished that it would stop weighing so heavily on her, because Bella knew in her heart that Nate had been telling the truth when he said he didn't go to see Greg, but no matter what she tried she couldn't manage to shake the feeling of betrayal that crawled just beneath her skin.

"I love you." Nate mumbled in to the crook of her neck.

Bella chose not to respond verbally, and instead just turned in his arms, placed a bruising kiss to his lips, then buried her head in his chest. She loved him, that much was evident, but she was terrified because she was not _in _love with him and it was making it so much harder to forgive and forget. It was that moment that she decided she was over-reacting, and would do her best to brush off the problem.

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><p><em><strong>Earlier that morning . . .<strong>_

"Alice do you know how much trouble you're going to get us in!" Edward huffed impatiently at his sprite of a sister.

It was approximately three in the morning and the two siblings were perched carefully in a tree outside Bella's house. It was very creepy, yes, but Alice couldn't help the constant need to make sure her human was safe and sound. She had seen how utterly distraught the girl was at school, and though she knew her efforts to cheer her up were not completely in vain, the underlying pain was still obviously there.

"Shut it, Edward. You didn't see her face after that fight. She looked so. . .so defeated. It was terrible. I don't trust this human boy, he's everything that's bad for her." Alice growled at the sight of the two very barred out humans stumbling about the bedroom that glowed with black-lights.

"Alice . . ." Edward sighed in defeat, "I understand what you're going through, I do, but she isn't one of us, she doesn't feel the pull like you do. All Bella knows is that she is attracted to someone other than her boyfriend. Imagine how internally freaked out she is right now."

He paused. Alice snarled lightly.

"Okay, well maybe not right now, but when she's in her right mind Jasper says she is all over the place with her emotions. He said yesterday at lunch he could feel anger, betrayal, fear, attraction . . ." Another pause. "Love. All of those are probably a war to her."

The pixie sucked in an unnecessary breath of air and leaned back carefully against the trunk of the tree, her ears trained carefully on Nate and Bella. They weren't really doing much besides talking, which ranged from incoherent rambling, to oddly deep conversations that she tried to respectfully tune out, then to them just laying and staring at the black-lights across the wall. Edward was right, she realized that, but she still planned on keeping an eye on the girl from a distance. Alice was going to become good friends with Bella one way or another, and if luck was on her side, one day they would be together.

"Alice, your thoughts are screaming at me, for the love of God stop thinking so intensely or you're going to give me a headache." Edward quipped.

"Vampires don't get headaches, Edward." Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

"Listen sis', you're not going to have her right away, you know that right? There's clearly much more to this girl than what she lets on, and the rumors, while unjust, are not all incorrect. This boy may not be good for her, but clearly she cares a lot about him. It will take time for that to go away, and that's if it even does. She falls in love like a human, she doesn't just find her mate at first sight like we do. She is a _human_."

"I get it! She's human, you've said that a thousand times."

"I'm just reiterating my point."

She sighed when the two finally collapsed and passed out almost immediately on the bed in a heap of blankets and tangled limbs.

"I know. Let's go home."

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><p>It didn't take long for the two vampires to flit across Forks back to their home that lay safely tucked away in the forest. The trip had been all but silent, as Edward had decided to leave Alice to her own thoughts as best as he could while they duck and wove through tree branches. He didn't need Jasper, their empathic brother, to know that Alice was hurting inside, although he couldn't tell what she was in pain from more; seeing her mate with someone else, or seeing her mate destroy her life. Edward concluded that both were valid reasons and would be weighing heavily on the shoulders of the little pixie. It hurt him deeply to see his baby sister in so much pain, and it was even worse to be able to hear her thoughts on the entire situation, but he knew that all he could do was offer his love and support as her brother.<p>

"We're home!" Alice spoke as her and Edward crossed the threshold.

There was no need to yell, vampires had enhanced senses and the whole family would hear her from their bedrooms. Well, they would, except that they were actually in the living room. It wasn't a total surprise because while they all enjoyed their alone time, the Cullen family was keen on spending time together. Edward strode to the far side and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Rosalie, who had Emmett sitting on the floor between her legs focused on a heated war-game battle with Jasper. Carlisle and Esme, their "father" and "mother", were curled up together on the love seat to the right of the couch. Carlisle, as per usual, had his nose stuck in a book, most likely a medical or history book, and Esme was watching her two sons duke it out via video-game, occasionally scolding one or the other for using vulgar language.

"So shorty, how was she?" Emmett inquired without looking from the screen.

Alice stiffened. They had told the family they were going hunting, so how did Emmett know?

"Awe, COME ON!" He cried in exasperation as Jasper killed him with _another_ head-shot. He set down the controller and turned to face her, a grin threatening to split his features. "Seriously, baby sis', we all know you and Eddie-boy didn't _really_ go hunting."

Emmett pulled Rosalie up and sat back down on the couch with her in his lap, while Edward took his spot on the floor and took the controller. Alice eyed her brother skeptically, a little unsure on how to respond to his statement, then turned her gaze to Edward in a plea for help. It was no use, he was already engrossed in the game, crying out in a similar fashion to Emmett when Jasper killed him first round.

"She was fine." Alice responded curtly, but adjusted her tone when Esme shot her a look. Emmett was just being himself, so she couldn't really snap at him for his curiosity. "How did you know, though? We didn't spend more time there than we would had we been hunting."

"Be real here Alice," Rosalie finally jumped in, "Your plan was totally flawed. First off, we all went hunting three days ago and got our fill, you wouldn't be that hungry this soon. Second off, we can see the way you've been looking at her and finding every little excuse to be around her at school, and let me tell you that you are in no way _subtle _about your affection for this girl."

"She's not just a girl Rose," She barely managed not to snap, "She's my mate, just like Em is yours, and Esme is Carlisle's, and I can't help the need to be around her."

"All that human is going to do is attract attention and caused problems!" Her sister snarled.

Edward and Jasper had put down their controllers, and Carlisle looked up from his book. Emmett's arms were wrapped securely around Rosalie in the chance that things escalated and the whole family was eyeing them warily. Jasper did his best to help by sending out a heavy wave of calm feelings, which worked enough because Alice relaxed her stance and Rosalie sat back against Emmett's chest.

"I love you Alice, you're my sister and nothing will change that, but Bella is an orphaned drug addict who is clearly head over heels in love with that Nate kid." Rosalie's expression saddened slightly. "I don't want to see you hurt if she chooses him over you, or worse."

Alice sighed, she couldn't be mad at Rose, after all she was just trying to protect her like an older sibling should. When everyone felt the tension subside, Carlisle went back to his book, and Jasper and Edward back to their video game. Edward huffed indignantly as he was once again killed.

"I know, Rosie, I promise I do." Alice smiled in answer to the one that appeared on Rosalie's face at the use of her nickname. She secretly loved to be called that but would never readily admit it. "However, I do love her, with everything that I am. She's going down a terrible path, and even if she chooses that boy over me, I will be beside her every step of the way because the least I can do in that situation is not let her be alone_"_

_"_She wouldn't be alone Alice, she'd have him."

"I understand that, but she also has no friends because of him. He's dangerous, the kids here know that and they steer clear as best they can, which in turn means that they avoid Bella because they're pretty much a package deal. I don't know what he did, but the other kids avoid the couple like the plague and Bella needs a friend, Rosie, a friend who won't leave because of her boyfriend."

The two stared at each other for a moment, Alice's eyes begging her to understand, and Rose's eyes seemingly searching for something. She must have found what she was looking for because she closed her eyes, took a deep, unnecessary breath, then exhaled before responding.

"Alright, I trust you know what you're doing."

Alice smiled in thanks, and turned to where her two battling brothers sat on the floor. _Edward. _She thought, getting his attention enough that he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. _Will you come with me again tonight to keep an eye on her? I'm worried, I had a vision and her future went black._ He nodded lightly in response, keeping his attention trained on the television as not to make it too obvious that they were having a mental conversation. With that said, or rather with that thought, Alice made her way up to her bedroom and curled up in the window sill, letting her thoughts wander.

She thought about Edward first, and how sometimes it bothered the family when they would speak wordlessly. Since Edward could read minds, all Alice ever had to do was think to him and he would know. In turn Alice could see the future, so all Edward needed to do was make the choice to say something to her and she would see it and respond mentally. The two tried their best to do it discreetly to avoid irritating the others, but that's how the two of them had bonded so amazingly fast when Alice and Jasper showed up to join the family. They both had gifts that were a strain and sometimes a burden, and even though Jasper had quite a difficult gift to manage too, it was a bit different because it was emotional rather than mental.

Then she began to think about Bella and how the confident, but still somehow shy and sweet, girl had captured her heart long before they ever met. Alice didn't start having visions of her at first, but it was like her inner beast knew her mate was in the same town, because as soon as Bella moved to Forks the visions began. They were pretty basic at first, little snippets here and there of Bella and her father eating a meal together, or of her getting ready for school or meeting with friends, but when her father died and she sought out less than admirable people they began to get stronger. It had taken the combined efforts of all four of her siblings to withhold her from stopping Bella from going to Greg's house that fateful night, and then when the vision came true Alice didn't speak with them for a month, having refused to leave her room for anything other than hunting. It had been a few days before school when Carlisle and Esme sat them down for a family meeting to talk about what happened, and the air was cleared when Alice understood their reasoning that things had to run their course they way they were supposed to, and that she couldn't go changing futures just to try and save someone pain.

Then they asked who exactly Bella was, and it was that moment that Alice realized she hadn't actually told them about her visions of the girl and that what they knew was all based on that single event. She explained to them when she started seeing the girls future and how she believed Bella to be her true mate, much to her family's delight. Jasper, of course, was the happiest for her, since he had been around her long before they ever found the Cullen family. At first, when Jasper and Alice showed up everyone thought they were a mated pair, since they kissed and made love like one. It wasn't until twenty years after them living as Cullen's that the rest of the family learned that they were together out of convenience rather than an actual mate bond. The two had known that of course, with Jasper being an empath he could feel the difference between a mate-bond and simple love, and Alice had seen Jasper coming many years before they ever met, so naturally she knew what was going to happen between them, and so did he.

Shaking her head to try and clear her mind a bit, Alice moved from her window to the bed and lay down; she couldn't sleep but she could at least mimic it as best she could. Her thoughts began to swirl around Bella, concern, love, and fear being the ever present emotions she felt when she thought about the clumsy human.

"Oh Bella," She sighed; something she seemed to be doing a lot lately, "My sweet, beautiful Bella. What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bella's home . .<strong> ._

"Nathan Andrews I told you once, and I'll tell you a thousand more times, I do not want those men anywhere near my home!" Bella snapped.

After waking up, the couple had laid in bed for a good three hours before actually deciding to start the day. They were still groggy and a little high from the night before, so lazing about was pretty much a given, well, it was until Nate decided to drop a bomb on Bella. As if it wasn't bad enough that she was still pissed over the Greg issue, he had decided to inform her that he'd lined up a fantastic deal with some guys from Seattle, and she nearly punched him until he assured her that they had nothing to do with Greg. Although, she contemplated hitting him anyways for inviting them to her home. Bella told him no without a second thought, and that there was no way she was going to have any of that part of his life come near her home; it was one thing to keep it at a distance, it was another for it to be on her doorstep.

"Babe, please, I can't bring them to my place because of my mother, and this deal could set us up for a long time!" He pleaded his case, following his furious girlfriend to the kitchen.

"No means no! I told you when we started dating that I didn't care what you did, or who you dealt with, as long as it wasn't Greg and you went to them instead of them coming to us." Bella began to cook the two lunch, trying to keep as calm as possible.

"Listen, I know, and I promise you that this is a one time thing. They'll show up, we'll make the exchange, they'll leave. No product testing, no threats, no drawn out conversations, just in and out and it's done." Nate hopped up to sit on the counter beside the oven, bright blue locking on to chocolate brown, a look of pleading meeting a look of anger and concern.

"Nate . . ." Bella sighed in defeat.

She knew that he would beg and plead until she gave in, and if she didn't cave then he would just go to them. It was a risky situation all-in-all, because if Nate didn't tell the guys she would be there, then she'd have to hide in another room. The dealers around the area were very jumpy people, which was partially due to the drugs, but it was also for fear of being set up. When you planned a get together with one, the rule was always the same; inform them of every attendee or risk death. It wasn't like the two hadn't been in similar situations, because Nate had taken her on many of his trips, but this time he made the stupid decision not to tell them about her because of the fact that it would be in her home, and he didn't want them knowing who she was. Bella stared at the puppy dog face he gave her for a long time, weighing her options and finally coming to a conclusion with a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, they can come, however," She cut him off as he opened his mouth to speak, "I need you to understand the amount of risk here. We could be killed, Nate! I'll stay in my dad's study, but don't do anything stupid. Don't provoke them, don't argue, and for the love of God, don't slip up and mention me."

"Thank you!" Nate leaped down and enveloped Bella in a bear hug, peppering her face and neck with kisses and mumbling a "thank you" between each one.

Bella tried hard to maintain her serious demeanor, but failed when his fingers dug in to her sides. She squealed in laughter and began swatting at his arms, pushing him away with a soft, playful scolding then sitting him at the table. It was about two-o-clock and they're _company_ wasn't due to show up until seven, they ended up spending five hours doing absolutely nothing productive besides watching a bunch of old movies. Bella was extremely nervous long before there came a knock on her door, signaling that Nate's buddies had arrived. She kissed him, praying it wouldn't be their last, and retreated to the study, which was right next to the living room. Bella leaned carefully against the door, straining her ears to hear the conversation.

"Right, boy-o, you have what we want?" A scratchy voice asked.

"Of course Chris, I told you I would."

There was the sound of slight shuffling, a crinkling bag, then a snort of amusement.

"Seriously, mate? This is it?" A second, unfamiliar voice snapped.

"Hunter, you only brought enough for that amount, measure it for yourself, it's all there"

"Nate, buddy, you don't want to skimp me on anything. I thought I told you that we expected more because we came to you." The man, apparently Chris, returned with false concern.

"And I told _you _that I couldn't afford the extra, and that it wouldn't happen. I also told you and your boss that if you didn't want it, you didn't have to show up and we could forget this whole deal." Nate's voice rose slightly.

_Nate, please, please don't provoke them. _Bella pleaded silently. She moved slightly closer to the door, tripping over a book in the process, then mentally chastised herself for being so clumsy. There was an angry yell from the other room, and her blood turned to ice in her veins. She had just royally fucked up.

"What the FUCK was that!?" Hunter bellowed.

"Who's in the other room, you stupid prick!?" Chris snarled, storming down the hallway.

Bella screamed in terror and fell back flat on her ass when the study door flew open to reveal a red-faced man with hair as blonde as Nate's, but eyes as brown as her own. Behind him stood a smaller man, lankier than the other two, with shaggy, curly black hair and almost black eyes. They both looked menacing, and the blonde guys face twisted in to a sneer before molding in to a wicked smile. Nate came barging through and planted himself firmly between them and Bella.

"Boy-o, you had someone spying on us?" Chris tilted his head, slipping a gun from his pants.

"No! No, Chris, this is just my girlfriend, please I only sent her in here because I didn't want her involved, it wasn't her place and she is in no way a snitch!" He defended desperately.

"You told us you would be alone!" Hunter growled, tackling Nate to the ground.

The two struggled with each other while Chris knelt down in front of Bella, his face a mask of mock regret as he regarded the young girl thoughtfully. Hunter, being unusually skilled for such a little man, managed to get the upper hand and twisted Nate's arms painfully behind his back, gripping the short hair on his head and forcing him to watch the exchange.

"Now, little miss girlfriend, we can't have you knowing we were here. I apologize for this, but we only deal with Nate because my boss has the dirt on him, he can't defy us without risking himself. You, however, are an unknown party and therefore considered dangerous. I'm sorry for this sweetheart, you really are very beautiful, but in this life it's kill or be killed."

"Bella NO!"

Two voices cried out her name simultaneously as the sound of a gun rattled the air. Bella stared down at her side as blood began to seep out of the wound and proceeded to soak her shirt, the screams of horror and the animalistic snarls not even registering. Her mind grew fuzzy and her eyelids drooped as the blood loss began to take it's toll on her body and just for a moment, Bella could have sworn she saw golden eyes staring in to her own before darkness claimed her.

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><p><strong>(AN: Oh noooo, what have I done? Nothing. I've done nothing wrong :| I'm going to tell you now that some of these situations portrayed are situations I myself have been in, so I don't want to see anyone say "Oh that wouldn't really happen." because yes, it would, and it has. Review and tell me what you think! Or don't review and just enjoy the story to your hearts content :D either way I'll be supremely happy!)**


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